


eternity

by spheeris1



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: F/F, Love, Post-Series, slight introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-16
Updated: 2013-03-16
Packaged: 2017-12-05 11:40:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/722872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spheeris1/pseuds/spheeris1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anthy figures out what ever-after looks like.</p>
            </blockquote>





	eternity

~ ~

Would it be as beautiful as it is now? Would it be just like a fading dream? Would there be too many hours to lose or would time slow down to a crawl? Would the pain suddenly stop or would this agony creep out of her body like shadows slip over a wall? Would it be as grand as she once imagined or would it be as terrifying as she always feared?

And after all these things have come to pass, would eternity still wear Utena’s face?

/

Upside-down castles have their place, but when Anthy looks up at the clouds these days… well, it is only clouds that she ever sees. And forever-after has turned into days and days have turned into months and there are little lines near the corners of her mouth – laughter likes to leave reminders and so does the ticking of the clock…

…well, she’s been around for quite a while, so such things are to be expected.

And if – for a moment – Anthy stares for too long and the edges of a storm-front look just like a gaze from years ago ( _you had a noble kind-of thunder in your eyes, didn’t you?_ ) and she sighs with longing while others around her duck and run for cover…

…well, that’s to be expected, too.

/

Would they forgive the unforgiveable? Would they know each other anywhere? Would they rush to embrace one another? Would she finally smile like she always meant to or would she weep into the night? Would she have the courage to kiss those lips or would she keep her face turned away in shame? Would they shine together – someday soon, someday like today – or would they grow dull with so much history resting on their shoulders?

And after all these things have come to pass, would eternity still fall sweetly from Utena’s tongue?

/

Museums make her grin in a manner most rueful and wise - side-stepping children with sticky fingers and wandering attention, moving around men with canes and women with heavy purses – because she knows nothing about armor ( _no iron for us, only cloth and make-believe_ ) but she knows all about swords.

And kings look impressive in paintings but no one ever talks about the pain. And knights look dashing but no one ever talks about the sacrifices made. And towers look easy to climb – from a distance – but up close…

…well, such stones were never meant for scaling, were they?

She reads fairy-tales as she feeds the birds and autumn is replacing summer and every time a siren wails, Anthy looks away from the pecking of pigeons and there is a second where a wonderful flash of pink flutters into view before it disappears again and all those stories turn into fiction once more…

…well, such stories were never meant to be taken as truth, were they?

/

Would it really happen?

Would this revolution arrive like a lion or would it sidle up to the world like a lamb?

Would it be a beginning or would it merely be an end? Would it be the start of something or just the dissolving of what is left? Would it ever make any sense or would it always be a tale told in a language no one could ever understand?

And after all these things have come to pass…

…would eternity still call Utena home?

/

She follows the veins first, then joint to joint, and then she lays her head down upon this chest and she listens. Listening is important – to words unsaid, to promises made long ago, to the clashing of metal and to the beating of a heart – listening is what she does at night instead of sleeping.

And when Utena turns, Anthy turns with her.

And when Utena finally awakens, Anthy finally shuts her eyes; she closes her eyes so that Utena may watch her and so that Utena can smile and lean down to brush a tender touch to Anthy’s forehead.

“You found me, you found me…”

Utena says the same thing every morning and Anthy carries this utterance along the curve of her ear…

…well, that’s where real treasures live after all.

And eternity looks like a city, looks like an apartment, looks like a job and a pet and bills and seasons that change and stars that eventually die and—

“…you found me…”

\--eternity looks like the two of them and Anthy reaches out in every way that she once couldn’t; she reaches out and trails her fingertips up the length of Utena’s spine and there is a hiss of old pain and there is a soft moan of new pleasures and eternity looks like this…

“...open your eyes.”

…well, that’s what Anthy planned on doing anyway.

/

(end)


End file.
